


Eclipsed

by Frangipanidownunder



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 09:24:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11871369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frangipanidownunder/pseuds/Frangipanidownunder
Summary: When Mulder and Scully Met the Eclipse





	Eclipsed

She’d been told to pack light but to include sturdy shoes. She sighed when she saw he’d dragged out the tent. It had languished in the shed for years and she was sure it had mildew and rips and all manner of insects hidden away. She wanted to tell him she was too old for this but he was all childlike wonder and enthusiasm and she couldn’t deflate an excited Mulder.  
“All done, Scully?”  
She flicked on the flashlight and made an X overhead, the brightness leaving a hazy light trail behind her eyes. “Did you pack extra batteries, Mulder?”  
“I packed like an Indian Guide, Scully. Don’t you trust me?”  
She crossed her arms and smiled at him. “Where are we going, Mulder?”  
He tapped the side of his nose.  
She dropped her arms and shook her head. “Fine. It’s a surprise. But I know we’re going to see the eclipse.”  
“See, we’ve still got that unspoken communication, Scully. All these years – together and apart - and we can still just zone in on each other’s thoughts.”  
“Mulder, there was no way you were going to be content to watch this event on the streets outside the Hoover Building. I’m surprised you didn’t get Chuck Burks to construct you some kind of uber digital imaging…oh, Mulder, tell me we aren’t going to spend the week with Chuck Burks?”  
He chuckled. “Your face, Scully. If I could have a thought-o-graph of that expression, it would be up on my corkboard with my I Want to Believe Poster and the original copy of The Lone Gunmen.”

Driving for days with Mulder had always been part of the deal. They’d spent more hours inside rental cars than in their own apartments, back in the day. And during those years on the run, the safety of the car had been a way to block out the threats around them. Driving meant doing something, meant leaving behind the footprints they’d left at one town, meant moving forward.  
And the years at the house, where she worked to forget and he slowly turned in on himself remembering, she’d missed the road trips, the salty smell of his sunflower seeds, the unapologetic swigging of soda or downing of double caffeinated coffees to stay awake, the arguments over what radio station to listen to.  
Now, he leant his arm on the open window, wearing his favourite sunglasses, shirt sleeves rolled up and she watched as he flexed his jaw and mouthed the words to songs.

They drove. And she loved it.  
“Carbondale, Illinois, Mulder?”  
“The point of greatest duration, Scully.”  
She shook her head with a laugh. “You mean we can be in the dark for longer here than anywhere else in the States?”  
He snorted. “We’ve been in the dark for 25 years, Scully. What’s two more minutes?”  
“It’s pretty busy,” she said, watching people meandering along the street. “Do we have a booking?”  
“I booked us a prime spot months ago.” He flashed her the grin that she loved so much and she wondered how a man who’d been through so much pain could retain so much gentle wonder at life.  
“A nice trip to the forest?”  
His hand brushed her thigh and he turned to her. “Better than that, Scully.”

The weather was perfect. The tent wasn’t so bad, set slightly away from other campers, and he’d even remembered to pack her a few novels so she’d spent a couple of days just winding down. Mulder woke spring-coiled and ready and if the sun could just move a little faster, he’d be happier. He’d checked his phone a hundred times, he’d disappeared for ages at one point, only to come back with champagne and brie and strawberries.  
“I want you to remember this moment forever, Scully.”  
He put on his eclipse glasses and smiled up at the heavens.

First contact came and she felt a shiver through her body. Nature was a powerful reminder that life was shadows and sunlight and heat and cold and shooting flames and total darkness. And if you’re lucky, you get to spend it with Mulder. As partiality lengthened and the sky dimmed, the atmosphere changed. It was like the sliver of sun was hanging in the sky and watching them. She felt small and she pressed herself to Mulder as totality approached and the world fell silent. He chinked her glass and she heard him sip his champagne. She couldn’t drink, her throat was dry with emotion and her skin broke out in gooseflesh. She felt the tears prick at her eyes and Mulder pulled her closer.  
“What do you think, Scully? It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? Me and you, twenty-five years of darkness and light and we get to see this together.” He suddenly knelt down and took both her hands in his. “Scully, if I ask you to marry me, would you say yes this time?”  
In the darkness, she could only make out a silhouette of him, kneeling in front of her, silly glasses on his face, mouth half open in anticipation. So Mulder.   
“If I could pull a Bailys Bead down and set it in a ring for you, I would Scully. But, perhaps my mother’s ring would be okay for now?” He pulled out a box from his pocket and opened it. In the gradually lightening sky, she could see the ring, proud in its setting.   
“Yes,” she whispered, her voice echoing in the still.  
She dried the tears that had fallen once more and Mulder stood up, bending to kiss her. A round of applause broke out and she turned around.   
She blinked, once, twice. There in front of her was William. And Chuck Burks. With the biggest camera set up she’d ever seen.  
“How?” she looked at Mulder and then at William again. Then threw her arms around her son’s neck and hugged him tight. “It’s so good to see you.”  
When she let him go, he stepped back, smiling. He fished into his jeans pocket and pulled out car keys. “Got my licence. Took my first road trip.”  
“With Chuck?”  
“He’s a cool dude, Mom. And I couldn’t miss this surprise. Dad told me he was planning to eclipse every proposal he’d ever tried. And that he was certain you’d say yes this time. It’s not every day you can say you saw a miracle unfolding.”  
“The eclipse was pretty stunning,” she said.  
“I meant you saying yes, Mom.”  
Mulder erupted into laughter and she turned to him, taking off her glasses. His smile brightened along with the aura around him. Chuck clicked the shutter and a bright flash erupted.   
“I love you, Scully.”  
“Unspoken communication, Mulder. I know.”


End file.
